Dr. Saturday

BCS standings: Oregon leapfrogs Florida State to move to No. 2

It only took a week for Oregon to close the .0028 gap with Florida State and overtake the Seminoles as the No. 2 team in the BCS standings.

Oregon’s 42-14 win over then-No. 14 UCLA gave the Ducks enough clout in the computer rankings to leapfrog the Seminoles, whose 49-17 win against N.C. State wasn’t nearly as impressive. The Ducks now have a .042 edge over the Seminoles.

But these are the rankings everyone expected in the first place.

The Ducks are ranked No. 2 in both of the human poll components – the USA Today Coaches Poll and Harris Poll – and were just a solid win away from getting the computers on board. In fact, Florida State didn’t even earn a first place vote in either human component of the BCS standings this week after earning a few following the Seminoles big win against Clemson the week before.

So, the much-anticipated matchup between Alabama and Oregon – a matchup many wanted to see a year ago – is back on. However, both teams will need to win out to make that happen and as we all know, that’s easier said than done. The Ducks have their toughest test of the season next week when they travel to No. 5 Stanford. If the Ducks win that game, they could even close the .042 gap with Alabama.

Florida State has a tough game against No. 7 Miami next week – a game the Seminoles should win – but it won’t be enough to propel the Seminoles back over Oregon unless the Ducks lose.

Some other interesting notes from this week’s poll:

• Fresno State’s overtime win against San Diego State bumped the Bulldogs to No. 16 in the BCS standings and still above AAC leader No. 23 Central Florida, which, according to BCS rules, would put the Bulldogs into a BCS bowl.

• Missouri, which was No. 5 in the first BCS standings, dropped to No. 9 this week following an overtime loss to South Carolina. It would need to go undefeated and have several upsets occur above it to be in a position to challenge for the national title.

• Stanford moves to No. 5, which would probably put it into a BCS bowl – their fourth consecutive appearance – if the season were to end today. Of course, all of that could change against Oregon next Thursday.

• Ohio State tried to win over voters and the computers by pounding Penn State 63-14, but it did little to increase the Buckeyes’ national championship hopes. They’re still .0677 percentage points away from No. 2 and even losses by Oregon and Florida State might not help as teams such as Stanford, Baylor and Miami could leapfrog because of strength of schedule.

• Baylor comes in at No. 6 because of its 7-0 record, but it hasn’t really played the meat of its schedule yet. The Bears play No. 10 Oklahoma this week, which could propel them into the national championship conversation with a win.